Five 2026 figures that belong on every procurement agenda
A procurement team's 2026 budget rests on five verifiable figures. The first is the International Monetary Fund's forecast of around 5% GDP growth for Central Asia. In that scenario, regional demand for raw materials and finished product categories stays steady, suppliers are not pushed to turn to their domestic markets, and contract prices do not come under sudden pressure.
The second is the structural growth in the number of EU residents with Central Asian citizenship, according to Eurostat (dataset migr_pop1ctz, "Population on 1 January by age group, sex and citizenship", EU-27, citizenship KZ/UZ/KG/TJ/TM). For FMCG shelves in the Baltics, Scandinavia, Poland and Germany, this points to steady demand. The third is a single trading matrix covering five source countries (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), which reduces the risk of depending on a single supplier.
The fourth is an operating site of 2,934 m², according to our internal site plan, at Uriekstes 4A in the Sarkandaugava district of Riga. Under one roof it has a 1,440 m² warehouse zone used as a transit hub for European deliveries, a 720 m² showroom for partner meetings, a 486 m² workshop for export packing and a 288 m² operations office. The fifth is a single publicly verifiable legal entity in the EU, with a registration number in the Latvian Register of Enterprises, which is accountable for the documents, the route and the contract payments.
Macro context: GDP growth, GSP+ access and the diaspora signal
The IMF's 2026 forecast for Central Asia sets the overall frame. With the regional economy growing at around 5%, producers can keep their ranges and go on investing in quality and certification. Contracts for dried fruit, plov rice, spices and craft categories can therefore be planned on an 18–24 month horizon rather than batch by batch.
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are beneficiaries of GSP+, the enhanced arrangement within the EU's Generalised Scheme of Preferences, so a large share of their tariff lines enter the EU at zero or reduced duty. For a procurement team, that is an opportunity to improve net shelf margin without squeezing the producer's selling prices.
The structural growth of the Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik and Turkmen communities in the EU, recorded by Eurostat in dataset migr_pop1ctz, gives category strategy a practical signal about demand for plov, samsa, manty, traditional dairy products, spices and tea in Riga, Stockholm, Berlin, Helsinki and Warsaw.
Latvia as the assembly point: a company you can check in the Latvian register
A Latvian SIA must disclose its details publicly in the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia (UR, ur.gov.lv), and private information services such as Lursoft republish that data. With the registration number 40203644876, a buyer in Stockholm, Berlin or Helsinki can check our legal address, date of registration, board members and business activity before signing a contract. That covers the basic counterparty-risk checks.
Legal transparency comes with a physical base: the operating site at Uriekstes iela 4A in Sarkandaugava, where the leased area is 2,934 m² under one roof according to our internal site plan (a 1,440 m² warehouse zone, a 486 m² packing workshop, a 720 m² showroom and a 288 m² office). The site lets us receive cargo off the sea leg, run pre-export checks on documents and packaging, and dispatch each batch for distribution to eight target cities in the EU and Norway without extra transhipment.
First-quarter 2026 checklist: what to confirm before the season
Before the 2026 summer buying season opens, it pays to settle the basic operational items. They are the minimum needed: without them, the first batch into the EU will not clear customs or will be accepted with reservations.
- Agree the CN (Combined Nomenclature) code and check whether the line qualifies for GSP+ or pays the normal MFN duty.
- Confirm the exporter's REX number with your supplier in Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan and check that the registration is still active.
- Meet the labelling requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 for food lines: the 14 allergens, the nutrition declaration and the languages of the destination country.
- Fix the Incoterms in the contract: for deliveries via the Trans-Caspian corridor, CIP Riga or DAP to the target city are common choices.
- Agree a batch traceability matrix: lot code, Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, where the code is applied and how it is recorded.
When to move on to the specialist guides
The baseline gives the overall picture. Once a particular item turns into an operational decision, it is worth going into the specialist guides: the Trans-Caspian corridor explainer for the route, the GSP+ guide for the tariff, the EU halal handbook for meat and dairy, and the anatomy of Uriekstes 4A for how goods are received.
You can tell a team is ready for specialist material when its questions get more precise than "how do we trade with the EU?" If someone in the room asks "what are the ochratoxin A limits for Surkhandarya dried apricots for the 2026 season?" or "how do we split Laser and Devzira between CN codes 1006.20 and 1006.30?", the work has moved beyond the baseline into a workstream of its own.
- Route and ports: the Trans-Caspian corridor explainer covers the five legs from Tashkent to Riga, seasonal constraints and ferry schedules.
- Tariff and origin: the GSP+ guide covers beneficiaries, the REX number, the statement on origin and common declaration errors.
- Halal: the EU halal certification handbook covers the IHI, SMIIC and GIMDES methodologies and Regulations 178/2002, 852/2004 and 853/2004.
- Receiving in Riga: the anatomy of our part of Uriekstes 4A covers the 2,934 m² under one roof (per our internal site plan) and the 1,440 m² warehouse zone used as a transit hub for European deliveries.
- Labelling for the EU shelf: the Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 checklist covers the mandatory core (name, ingredients, the 14 allergens, net quantity, date marking, the EU food business operator, nutrition), the conditional requirements (QUID, origin, alcohol, frozen or defrosted) and the minimum x-height of 1.2 mm.
In 2026, Central Asia–EU trade strategy can be described in five verifiable metrics, each backed by a document, a regulation or a registration.